The Master's University beach volleyball team knew the early stages of the program's inaugural season would be a learning process.
"Many girls are new to the game, and for being rookies they are learning quickly," said Mustang head coach Annett Davis. "Time is our best friend. The more we play, the better we'll get."
Master's also knew they would have a pair of tough matches at Huntington State Beach on Friday.
The Mustangs were set to take on the Ottawa University Arizona Spirit, who entered Friday at 6-1 overall. It was both teams' first Golden State Athletic Conference match of the year.
Following a 5-0 loss to the Spirit, TMU lost a second match, this time in a hard-fought 3-2 battle against Vanguard University.
"We expected it to be tough and it was," Davis said. "We are still learning the game and I am proud that our girls fought hard."
Junior Kasie Spencer and senior Rebecca Swenning, who lost to Concordia and won against Cypress the week before, impressed Davis with how hard they fought. The pair lost a close match in three to OUAZ, but came back and won an equally tough match against Vanguard.
"They work hard and fight for every point," Davis said. "I was impressed by their never-give-up attitude."
Katie Emmerling and Desi Elizondo were the other Mustang team to win against Vanguard.
Despite Friday marking the third-straight loss in a week for the Mustangs, Davis says that they plan to stay the course going forward.
The Mustangs have a quick turnaround as they travel to Northridge on Saturday to take on CSUN at the Matador Beach Volleyball Complex at 11 a.m. They will play Cal State Los Angeles at 1 p.m., also at CSUN.
